Flipkart founders have now backed a Chennai based electric bike startup Ather

Continuing their angel-funding spree, Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal have now backed an interesting electric bike startup, Ather based in Chennai. This funding round also includes investment from Raju Venkatraman, serial entrepreneur and CEO of MEDALL. This round of funding will be primarily used for product development. Prior to this, Ather raised their first round of capital in February this year from Dr. V Srinivas (Founder, Aerospike) and the Technology Development Board, Government of India.

Incubated and supported by the incubation cell at IIT Madras, Ather was started by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 with a mission to accelerate the adoption of electrical vehicles in India. To raise this funding, Ather used standardized documents designed by another Chennai startup - termsheet.io. The funding example of Ather have shown fellow entrepreneurs a quicker route to getting funded with TermSheet, a new platform that helps close seed funding rounds with zero friction.

Ather is an electric vehicle startup focused on designing high-speed electric two-wheelers for the Indian market. With a talented team of 15 engineers and designers, Ather’s key focus area is to develop technology to manufacture the best electric vehicles for India.

Tarun Mehta, Ather said, “We are very excited about this fresh round of funding. Sachin and Binny Bansal are leaders who have put India’s e-commerce industry on the global map through disruptive use of technology. Their focus on technology and reinvention aligns with that of Team Ather. Electric vehicles are still at a very nascent stage in India and our aim is to develop and introduce efficient electric scooters that will benefit the country and help manage its resources more effectively. We are extremely confident about this product and this funding is a reinforcement of our belief.”

Currently Ather is engaged in full-vehicle design and testing. The initial performance validation is over and manufacturing partners are currently being brought on-board.

Commenting on this funding, Sachin and Binny Bansal jointly said, “We believe that the world is moving towards a smarter, more energy-efficient and environment-friendly approach in our daily lives. Growing Indian start-ups like Ather are using technology successfully to make a mark in this field. We believe the team has the right vision and approach and will be successful in giving India the next generation of impactful, technology-enabled products that will change the way we live. We wish team Ather all the best for this project.”

A majority of team Ather shares a common background in designing Formula SAE - racecars for university competitions. Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, who have majored in Engineering Design at IIT Madras, share six patents between them.

Rising petrol prices and increasing concerns over pollution are definitely going to help startups like Ather further to get a strong market grip and help us save our environment.